It was a "good
news, bad news” summer for the good ole Knickerbockers, with the bad news being
a little clearer than the good.
To start with the
obvious bad news, go no further than the draft.
After the nightmare season, they inexplicably went on a winning streak
near the season’s end to give up the worst record,
which with a little bad luck resulted in picking outside of the top 3 in the
draft and missing out on prized prospects Towns or Russell.
Much to my
disappointment, the Knicks ended up drafting Kristaps Porizgis over more known
commodities like Justice Winslow, or physical specimens more suited for today’s
NBA like Emmanuel Mudiay. At the time I believed Porizgis was the classic
European prospect who gains too much momentum during the pre-draft hype and who
will eventually and inevitably become a bust, while the players behind him turn
into All Stars. However, after watching him during summer league play, I have quickly
come around to seeing him as the savior of the Knicks and the next great
European player, even though Phil Jackson recently compared him to Shawn
Bradley in what strangely seemed an attempt at a compliment.
With the Knicks’
history, though, it seems more likely than not that he will be out of the league
in three years while Justice Winslow becomes a Paul Peirce/Jimmy Butler/Kahwi
Leonard hybrid superstar and Emmanuel Mudiay becomes the next great, physical
point guard, unstoppable in transition and the pick and roll a la Russell
Westbrook or John Wall. However, I maintain a cautious optimism that he will
develop into a great player, with a very unique skill set.
The Knicks somehow
were also able to turn Tim Hardway Jr. into a 1st round pick which
they used on Jerian Grant, which feels like borderline highway robbery and a
very underrated and positive move from Phil Jackson. This could turn out to be
the steal of the draft and Phil Jackson’s best move as president.
Free agency was
another good news, bad news situation. The bad news was that they missed out on
all the top-level free agents. The good news is that the signed real life,
legit NBA players, something they were severely lacking in last season. Robin
Lopez over the past couple seasons has turned into a legit NBA center who is
one of the better defender/rebounding centers in the league. His brother Brook
has overshadowed Robin since they came into the league because of Brook’s
offensive skills and lottery selection. However, with Brook’s injury history
and complete inability to grab a rebound, Robin has transformed into the more
valuable Lopez brother.
Kyle O’Quinn is
an underrated signing as well. Stuck playing behind Nikola Vucevic in Orlando
he never really got to play many minutes, but he is young, big, strong and
talented. If you look at his per 36 minutes stats, the guy has averaged 13 and
10 for his career. Given a bigger role this guy has a chance to turn into a
very solid player who can play both power forward and center.
Derrick Williams has carried the label bust
since he was selected with the 2nd overall pick in the 2011 draft,
and deservedly so. To his defense, though, he has played on the Timberwolves
and Kings, two organizations that were not exactly models of stability or known
for developing talent. The Knicks have been just as bad in recent years, but
hopefully with Phil and Derrick Fisher in the second year of their tenure, they
can add some stability and confidence to this kid’s life and resurrect his
career. He has all the natural talent in the world and is still only 24 years
old.
And Aaron Afflalo
is just a seasoned vet. The man can shoot, play defense, and bring stability to
the locker room, which are three things that the man he is replacing, Tim Hardway
Jr., could never figure out.
A lot has been
said about whether Carmelo Anthony is a franchise player. I have gone back and
forth many times myself. This is the season he has to prove his worth. While
this team is nowhere near a championship caliber team, it is in fact a real NBA
squad. If Carmelo cannot lead this team to a playoff birth in the East, he
deserves every piece of criticism he has ever or will ever receive.
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